Reading unpleasant books

Lisa (Books.Lists.Life) reviewed Khaled Hosseini's new book, saying:

A Thousand Splendid Suns is possibly the best book I'll read this year. ... set against the very real political actions of the times- Soviet invasion, Mujahideens, the Taliban. I admit, this is not an area of politics that I know much about. My husband was nice enough to give me mini history lessons as the need arose.

This book was so emotionally hard for me. It took me something like three weeks to read it. I kept reaching points where I had to stop for days to recover my equilibrium. ... The book, though it is fiction, seemed so very real to me. Mariam and Laila are so well done, so different and so believable. I kept saying to myself, "this can't be happening, it can't, it can't!" My mind could not comprehend that in 1994 when the Taliban invaded and women had to be covered in burqas, and couldn't leave home without a man, that I was 19 years old and in college. I had my own apartment. I was wearing swimsuits in mixed company! It was fiction, but it was so real. I cried so many times. ...

Trish recommended that I read The Storyteller's Daughter by Saira Shah and I picked that up at the library today. ... You can bet I'll be paying closer attention to the news now, and trying to imagine myself in their shoes. This was a very good book, I'll be recommending that everyone I know read it.

I left Lisa this comment:

Lisa, I think this is why we need to read novels about current events and places: "You can bet I'll be paying closer attention to the news now, and trying to imagine myself in their shoes."

Our news media gives us Paris Hilton's antics instead of news, so we Americans are likely less informed than others in the world about what is going on. We visit Disney World and (act like we) think that's the "real" world. We are like children, believing nothing will hurt us if we just don't think about it too hard.

I'm glad you were so deeply affected by this book. Saira Shah, who wrote The Storyteller's Daughter, went to Afghanistan with her father's stories in her mind -- and it seemed to me that she preferred to believe the stories even with the horror in front of her there. I would still recommend you read her book. Thanks for a very good review.

If you want to read the whole review, click HERE. Tell her "Bonnie sent me."